Lives of Cursed Children
by Sukila
Summary: Decided to experiment with some character scenarios based on some made-up Devil Fruits. May work on the characters in the future or even make a full work if I find the time and inspiration.


Lives of Cursed Children

* * *

 **Kesshō Kesshō no Mi (Crystal)**

 _Scenario: Slave_

It was small and dark in the cell, a shaft of light coming through to briefly bathe the figure in warmth. You shift, yawning as the cold brought on a shiver. The sun's rays danced off the reflections of the many surfaces lining the walls with differing colors of sheen. A little hand rose to move the rocks with a patient and guiding gesture, they wrapped around in what could be seen as a loving gesture of protection, after all, it was the fruit's fault you were in this mess to begin with- _**Slam!**_

"Gem! Get up! It's time to get to work~!" The noble that kept you was an ugly woman, her makeup hiding the many wrinkles of age and fat that piled years onto her skin; jewels barely distracting one's gaze from her lacking figure. She could send a servant to do this but she never did, opting instead to make the trek up the long staircase herself. Polish of a dark rouge coated her long fingernails that reached out, palm up and open as she waited. You could feel it tear from your skin in a grueling manner that had you cringing from the tear of fibres and gush of bluish liquid, her eyes only sparkling as she eyed the glittering gems that started to take hold and grow. She could simply take the gems you'd already made but she always seemed to want the smaller ones; perhaps just because she liked to watch.

Slowly the skin glosses over, the fluids freezing in place, branching out in a few places and remaining jagged on the very edges. Little diamonds that you scraped off, leaving the rest of the missing arm to re-harden later as you gathered up the decently-sized shards; scooping them into your hands and offering them to the mistress. She looks ecstatic but your face only turns, keeping the same dull look as you turn to peer at your reflection through one of the crystals. Your skin is spotted with blue rock instead of skin, a good portion of your legs frozen into the floor itself told you that walking would be just as impossible as always; not that there was anywhere to go. One eye had already been sacrificed, your face reflecting the rock itself with the clear, blue substance it now held. Thankfully that part was still the same shape it had been before, a symbol that showed you'd had enough time to get it right.

Fourteen years you'd spent, chipping away at legs, arms, anything attached. Your hair was proof of that, all of it already nothing more than a carved statue that would grow no longer. Your captor was already gone, seemingly satisfied with 'today's haul.' Your mind left to wander and ask questions you weren't sure you'd like to ponder. 'Will my life just be this...forever? Until I chip away every last bit?' 'Is this how I'll die?' Sad, depressing thoughts that a statue couldn't even think once built up, despite looking human. What _did_ the outside look like? You'd only ever seen the staircase from when the door had first swung open and you only remembered this place. Perhaps you'd seen it before being captured but no memory remained to prove such a theory. Life is _so_ terrifying.

* * *

 **Osore Osore no Mi (Fear)**

 _Scenario: Outcast  
_

There was a forbidden place to the people of the village. A dark, desolate place that, despite being lush with plant-life, humans were to stay far away. No one knew quite why, though, why even the bravest came back with terror in their eyes and a promise to never return; a tale of monsters. No one knew, except you. Holder of the key to solitude and salvation from humanity.

Eating the fruit you'd found was a step in a bad direction from the very start, though it had been a wonderful way of scaring off an abusive mother and mean kids it was...hard to control. The intent to kill naturally leaking from your body like your scent. Even when you slept animals kept their distance, humans even farther. You hadn't waited until you were chased out once your mother had taken off running, instead opting to run yourself into a secluded section of the jungle. The island was rather small but there were plenty of hiding places and you certainly didn't want her to come back once she was out of her funk. From that day forward you haven't seen a single soul, no living things daring to come near besides the greenery surrounding you. Loneliness was a feeling you were used to but even looks of scorn and condescending gazes would be welcome at this point. What you wouldn't give to have the feeling of being watched again?

Life would move forward, ever continuing on this little isle of yours, though it would continue without you. Nobody needed you anyway...there's nothing to mourn, really. Keeping in the scent was exhausting and painful so you could barely hold it for half the length you could hold your breath. Still, you didn't need them anyways! You have your trees, the little fort you made, and the flowers to keep company with! These are the thoughts you tried to empower yourself with, yet the empty feeling inside refused to cease, a deep hatred brewing and only growing stronger as the sadness did in turn. You just wanted someone, anyone, even just an animal; something that _breathes_ to just _look_ at you again. But no one ever would, as escaping one tragedy had only lead you to a curse; and you'd take pain anyday over this never ending despair. Life is _so_ lonely.

* * *

 **Hi Hi no Mi (Day)**

 _Scenario: Prisoner  
_

"What's a kid doing here?"

"No clue, hasn't said a word since she got here."

"She deaf?"

"Who knows."

The stone walls were thick but the bars held no secret. Especially when their eyes and mouths had been questioning since you first got here. You remember your time as a toddler, a little bracelet attached to your wrist that kept the power given in check and from growing; expanding into a threat. Until you'd forgotten the band, then they took you away from the light, from _your_ light. Without the brightness you'd felt hollow ever since, a deep sadness welling in your heart until it broke; you needed the sun. Called her 'Aonani' when you talked, no one believed she was real but you'd both talk for hours as her rays tanned your skin. She'd tell you stories of 'Chandra' and how she'd met the moon to begin with.

As for getting the power, it had been given to you, something about it being a 'great honor' by the Marines for entrusting this power for safe-keeping- blah blah blah. Who cares? If they didn't want someone to hold it they shouldn't have given it to you in the first place, damn Marines. So here you were, the lowest cell of Impel Down where crooks of the pirate-variety got held until death came knocking, to get information, or just so no one could get to them. People asked every time they were brought in what a no-name kid was doing, sitting around in the darkness and occasionally getting a visit from some Marine telling her that her father's too busy to get off his lazy ass and do it himself. You'd been down here since you were just a kid, just learning the finer points in life, rebellion, swearing, that 'birds and the bees' junk. Then life sure did take a tumble, one hell of a fall if you had anything to add, and hit its head on the problem stone and gave itself brain damage.

They gave you a bounty poster for show, just to justify shoving an eleven year old in the slammer's deepest hovel of a cage. Called you 'Light's Prophet,' what a show of a nickname. Most people didn't even know it existed considering it was never sent out and the only crime available for description was 'suspected' this or that; that or loitering in prison cell for eight years. What an attitude you'd grown about it, the world too, nothing but cynical views from the deteriorating teen that'd never even gotten a chance to develop fully. Trying to keep hope alive was practically futile at this point, especially considering they wanted to keep you alive as long as possible with how dangerous your abilities were; well, when you could actually _use_ them. Without Aolani you felt lost and alone, what were you supposed to do without her? Make friends with criminals? Sounds like a one-way ticket to some sort of isolation; you wanted _some_ human interaction. There was just nothing you could do, you couldn't even control the decision to let go of this empty life and just die. Life is _so_ meaningless.

* * *

 **Himi Himi no Mi (Secret (Himitsu))**

 _Scenario: Homeless_

"Hey mister! Wanna hear a secret?"

"Well, sure, little girl, maybe then we can go find your parents."

"For~get!" You cackle with glee as your hand taps his temple, "Bye-bye!" You turn around while skipping back and he looks dazed. A smile takes hold of your lips as you head back, groceries and a stolen wallet in hand. You feel a little remorse, he seemed like a good person but...you need it more. Your mouth's upturn soon lowers as you walk back, pondering your situation as you skip back; letting the ruffles of your handmade dress sway back and forth.

"Hmm, I wonder if anyone knows my name…" You'd made so many people forget that you didn't think so, besides, who'd wanna know that name of some orphaned kid anyway- Oh. It's them again, you race home, climbing into the abandoned building you called home that accompanied the many others in Sabaody. Tiny hands reached into the large bag slung over your shoulder as you slid the strap off, pulling out a small spyglass. The face of a happy woman with bright, ginger hair and a man with platinum blonde locks kept back in a ponytail center in your vision and hold your gaze.

"Mommy...Daddy…" It had been seven years since you'd made the biggest of your life. When you'd found that fruit on a tree, leaving the remains of the disgusting thing on the ground of the park as you ran to return to your parents a trinket you'd found; one of the silver pins your mother used quite often. Then that man had come and tried to take you, in a panic you'd activated the ability and made him forget not just what he was doing, but everything; this was the power you'd only activated once when you had feared for your life. When the closest person lost everything about who he was and the other two forgot half their lives; the half with you in it. You tried many times to reverse it but that damage was done, the mistake was permanent and when you'd tried to explain it they'd called you crazy or said you were mistaking them for someone else. The worst part was that they hadn't just forgotten you, but everything just after they were married (since you didn't know how to erase just one thing back then). You'd ruined their lives, messing with memories you didn't even know of and now you were left to watch those that had once put their lives on the line for you...not even recall your existence; much less love you. Life is _so_ unforgiving.

* * *

 **Itami Itami no Mi (Pain)**

 _Scenario: Cipher Pol  
_

"I won't tell you nothing!" The man standing tall snapped his fingers.

"Wraith." You step forward in a stiff motion.

"Yes sir." Your hand moves upwards, opening with your palm upward, "Pain." Your voice commands, hand immediately closing into a fist, fingers squeezing hard enough to shake with unsteadiness. He screams, body curling in on itself as the feeling comes forth instantly, you stand with indifference as he begs you to stop; your head doesn't move but you eyes move to look up at your commander. Eventually, his hand raises and you let your hand fall, blood staining the floor from where fingernails dug into flesh; mixing with the tortured man's own life liquid that marrs the smooth flooring with a sticky wetness and the scent of death. You found no pleasure in this but no adverse effects either. Cipher Pol was always quick to route out things like that. Training had been like a never ending nightmare but now the effects you had been given allowed for a much more...hands-free interrogation; at least on your part. Good, you'd always hated how messy the job seemed to get.

The chief motions for you to go and you nod at the request, seems he wants to get his own hands dirty from this point forward. You're out the door in a flash, knowing he isn't one to wait until the 'splash zone' clears. You clamber upstairs, pulling out a standard issue Marine uniform, donning the cap with a slight grimace. The bright colors always gave you a headache on these undercover missions...why did they all have to be so...white? Perhaps you were simply too used to the shadows of the hushed organization, assassination coming much easier than things like this. A good portion of members enjoyed the relief, even those in higher ranks but to you it all just felt like children playing pretend; the only difference being real guns and faker smiles. You'd gotten a code-name too, another childish notion you hadn't decided on yourself, earning the name after someone decided to get annoyingly creative with the 'demon girl' names. So you're younger? Who cares? It was no reason to start comparisons to Nico Robin…

No matter. Right now you simply had to tune your character, learning from experience that others often found you too stiff to talk to, though being quiet was interpreted as a need to get to know you. You didn't understand social dynamics like that at all but learning to pretend wasn't an issue in the slightest. You had to teach yourself to waste time, to 'have fun for once.' It was still an odd transition but necessary if you wanted to keep moving up in this world of backdoors and rankings. Life is _so_ complicated.

* * *

 **Bijon Bijon no Mi (Vision)**

 _Scenario: Civilian_

Life is a gift that you'd watch being snuffed out too many times since you were first cursed. You'd thought it would make you stronger, something to beat back the aggressors that threatened your family; though in the end you'd gotten the most terrifying and useless power of all. Knowledge of death. You knew this because you tried everything, yet your family still died in the fire you'd watched happen when your mother took your hand. Experiments proved that it still worked through gloves so even feigning germaphobia wasn't completely solving of the issue. Not that you really liked talking or being social anymore, a number of unpreventable deaths still fresh on your mind. So instead of bothering to watch you simply become a recluse.

Never leaving the house you bought with old money set aside for things like this by your family. Instead opting to do indoor activities, like painting, writing books, gardening in a room you'd made into a makeshift greenhouse. Anything relaxing that could take your taxing heart away from the strain it faced from childhood illness and repeated pneumonia taking its toll. People came to you for fortune telling so you could make some money since, thankfully, once you'd developed your skills a bit more and had the bravery to try once more you found you could see other things as well. Now tourists stopped by often, hearing of 'The Legendary Nova,' (a title made up somewhere along the line despite your name not being Nova), whose predictions (almost) always came true. Why almost? Because if a person is set to die tomorrow why tell them? Why tell that bright-eyed man with dreams of love that he'd fall off a cliff in two months, shatter the bones in his leg then drink himself to death. Why tell that sweet kid that they'd be torn into by wolves once they hit thirteen? Why even mention to that kind woman that she'd never leave the island like she wanted, instead adhering to her father's wishes and living with regret until she lets the waters she's always wanted to sail take her life?

None of these people deserved that, and they certainly shouldn't be aware that they're stuck in a tragedy that's unpreventable. Life is _so_ cruel.

* * *

 **Me Me no Mi (Eye)**

 _Scenario: Pirate Underling  
_

Salvation came with the seas but now it was taken for another's dream. Sight had escaped you since you had turned ten and lost it all together. Lost those colorful days and even the hazy outlines that still proved you weren't a cripple. Now you're less of a person, you knew that much, no one wanted you and that was how its always been. Abandoned by the very parents that burdened you with their awful genetics. When you found the fruit it had been a literal eye-opener, the perfect scenario playing out as you tried it out and... _gave yourself sight._ It had been the most beautiful moment in your life, not that many others could compare… When the blue waters came into view to match the open skies, the sun making you squint and turn away from the brightness you hadn't seen, nor remembered to look away from, in so long. Like coming back from the deepest cave and finally seeing the world, changed after all the time spent in the dark. But now?

"Seriously? Another kid? Damn it!" He seemed annoyed, exasperated by your arrival in chains, "This ain't freakin' day care, the hell's the boss thinking?" You can't see him due to the sea stone but you can tell he isn't happy; you feel your bangs being moved but you stand still with an unwavering, hazy-eyed gaze. He's probably questioning your usefulness right about now but it doesn't matter to you.

"Something else wrong?"

"Well, kinda, I mean you got _another_ kid runnin' around here now?" A hand reaches towards you and carefully pulls your jaw upwards as a sigh sounds. You feel the metal loosen until nothing is touching your skin, then your sight returns to you, leaving you blinking with a dazed look at the harsh lights that practically blind you all over again. Your eyes still look the same but it's obvious something has changed when one takes in your appearance after activation.

"This _kid_ is going to be pretty useful to us, right, sweetie?" You'd like to feel useful to someone but you're afraid it'll end up the same way everything else had beforehand; like when your 'friends' had abandoned you and left you to these guys. What a day. Still, you feel hopeful, moving your face so that your eyes meet his own; fire striking in them already. Later you'll find this was both a heinous mistake and a great liberation. An example being when they'd first asked you to take someone's vision away and you'd refused, hesitation being broken down more and more despite your morals that said no one should have to suffer what you had. After they'd cured you of such limitations you'd found yourself attracted to the raging fires in camps and as cities burned. Pyromania brewed and now, here you were, standing with a new group as you watched the world burn with a great smile on your face as burning citizens attempted to escape without sight and the hand on your shoulder told tales of that good job you'd done. Life is _so_ wonderful.

* * *

 **Tsuba Tsuba no Mi (Wing (Tsubasa))**

 _Scenario: Noble  
_

The towering buildings of your home were like a mockery. Windows large, keeping rooms open with light and fresh air that only brightened the fresh linens. The maid had cleaned while you were reading by the sill of the glass pane. You had already changed, choosing the same white dress as usual before making the trip downstairs so your mother could 'adjust you' before she headed out. She unlocks the padlock, sliding the metal sheet out through your sleeve as she re-secures it around your back, carefully moving it to leave room for any...future developments in your teenage body. Afterwards she runs a brush through your long, blonde hair, leads you back upstairs, and leaves you alone in the home. Father has already gone and 'you're already too much to handle' being an automatic no to any possible siblings to occupy your endless amounts of time.

Your vision strays from the open book and gazes longingly at the outside world, the clouds a nice, puffy white and making many animal-like shapes. The long grass gently moving in accordance to soft winds that brought burning pain to your back. You wanted to fly, to get out of this damned room and just be as free as a bird. Daddy had left you the fruit when he died but after Mother remarried your little adventures with his gift had quickly come to a close. The man you now called father was strict but not overly so, you actually quite liked him and his slightly joking nature, however he was more timid and couldn't keep your mother in check as her previous husband had when it came to you. When you disagreed she locked you in, when you'd broken the window and escaped she'd gotten the shackle. It wasn't seastone since that would sap your energy but it was a thick, metal band that covered your back where wings could form.

That means no feathers, fibres, nor filament that could get you skyward. It had only been a recent addition but you'd already been driven to tears by this confinement. It had already lasted two years! Two years of waiting in your room in an empty house with only the window for company and the servants that would be fired if they conversed with you (since they could help you escape). Two years of being unable to touch the sky as you had for years before, even keeping out different pairs of wings to stretch or lay with to feel their weight at your back. Truly, if you ever got out of this situation you'd never put them away again, instead opting to journey to places unknown within the sky.

You'd miss your step-dad and, to an extent, your mother but it was all you wanted and that made coming back impossible. The call of the sky was just too strong for regrets, ever animal encompassing you and granting you their beautiful power beckoning you forward and towards the deadly drop of open air, a promise to catch you already on the tips of lying tongues due to desperation to feel that whip of resistance in a free fall. Because you were truly gifted, though it was that same gift that was driving you into insanity, leaving every part of your body screaming to just _jump._ Let mother's 'noble life' burn in hell and throw caution with you as you chased the wind but...you don't _want_ to die yet, even if this rich lifestyle is completely toxic to you. You have so much more you want to see but...if your entire is just... _this,_ maybe death really would be preferable. Life is _so_ suffocating.

* * *

 **Shi Shi no Mi (Death)**

 _Scenario: Runaway  
_

One might find it ironic that a bringer of death is so loved. Something about a beautiful lie and a terrible truth that never ceases to break hearts. Right now you were hiding, moving all the time in avoidance, always acting as though your life were on the line, even if it was always the other way around; more or less… In either case, the worst mistake made had to be taking a bite of something that had fallen on your head. It was just an ordinary afternoon, you had been sitting against the stone fence of the park and it had fallen on your head; probably being discarded by whoever had stolen it. You'd then go on and bear witness to a plague of your own creation when children that were playing with you had started, quite literally, dropping dead. They had taken everyone home, including yourself, and set up a quarantine; everyone fearful for their lives and their loved ones.

You knew now that the stronger and individual is, the more contact and time needed to kill, now days you've also learned to limit all skin-to-skin contact and hold yourself near the point of exhaustion whenever the need arises to go into town; that way it'll only be maybe a few hours off any unlucky clocks. You didn't go often, however, the missing posters constantly being updated to match new appearances as they found you. Your parents sometimes called to you, asking you why, begging you to come home; sometimes you cried too and simply told them you were sorry. You also found the unfortunate side-effect to the unwanted power. Your body was degrading, leaking out a fine, black dust that choked and spread like disease when it leaked into the air. It would spread for miles before dissipating, not just killing the weak but shortening the lifespans of the strong.

If you died then everyone around you, no matter where you went, would die; and the way to stop the degradation? Death… In order to keep from snuffing out the lives of hundreds under the pretense of a plague, you were forced to take time from these people; not being able to bear simply taking the whole life of a person to survive. Not to mention that lack of ability you had to seek out an isolated place to release the gases, they were still on the look-out for you and money was hard to come by besides that spare change taken to buy supplies. The worst part? Wildlife and plants could barely sustain an hour of your life and left the human populace to starve; there was no way to live off them. On top of that, an immeasurable guilt always weighed itself down on your heart as you watched them have things taken that they didn't deserve, bonds were impossible and fooling a person into making friends with death would be too cruel. Besides, it was already hard enough to remain hidden when everyone seems to miss you, making you damn the kindness you'd been taught and the friendships your parents had.

Damn the wants you feel inside a heart that's all too human. The need for comfort and the yearning for someone to talk to, to tell about this terrible burden that had been thrust upon you. It just wasn't fair...you're only a child. A child that had first killed when they were ten, eight months ago, and hasn't been seen since they did the unforgivable deed. Life is _so_ taxing.


End file.
